2018 was a difficult year for some of Arlington’s longest-tenured bars and restaurants, and Clarendon Grill was among the year’s casualties. First opened in 1996, the popular live music venue was initially listed for lease in August and its owners announced it would shutter a few months later. The bar held its last parties on Halloween weekend.

Clarendon’s Don Tito played host to the newly crowned Stanley Cup champs the day after the Caps’ big victory over the Las Vegas Golden Knights. An anxious crowd of dozens of fans awaited the team’s arrival at the bar, and everyone from Tom Wilson to T.J. Oshie were spotted kicking off the celebrations. Even Alex Ovechkin eventually swung through for the opening round of what turned into several weeks worth of aggressive partying in the wake of the Caps’ long-awaited win.

Fans of the diner were shocked and alarmed to discover that the original restaurant was listed on a realtor’s website in late September. However, its owner subsequently told ARLnow that he has no plans to shutter the popular restaurant any time soon, and is even eyeing an expansion on Lee Highway in 2019. Nevertheless, the property is still listed for sale online.

Few new developments around Arlington have attracted as much attention as Ballston Quarter, the overhaul of the old Ballston Common mall. The news that Chick-fil-A would be a part of the new development seemed to garner a particularly large audience, and the chain’s new location opened for diners earlier this month (though many other stores at the mall are still a work in progress).